Hello Dolly Lane !

In this article we will follow a route from from Furness Vale to Bugsworth.  We will start at the bottom Station Road and as we cross the bridge  we pass over the River Goyt, the original boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire. Look at the change in the masonry of the bridge parapet and you will see where the Toll Cottage once stood.  The bridge is known as Joule Bridge or sometimes Jolly Bridge and this was part of the Thronsett Turnpike . Turnpikes were abolished by Local Government Act of 1888 to much local rejoicing.

The name of this little hamlet of Gow Hole was recorded in 1587 as Jawhill, the earliest record. Various spellings are subsequently found, no doubt, as the name became corrupted: Joliehole; Jollyhole; Jowhole and finally Gow Hole and as we have seen Joule in reference to the bridge. 

The junction of Marsh Lane and Ladypit Road in the 1920s.  The coal wharf is behind the wall onthe right.

Lady Pit. A Local Coal Mine

Lady Pit, one of our local collieries closed in 1903. It was operated by the Beard and Bugsworth Colliery Company  and was one of several mines owned by  L & E Hall. This mine, also known as Beard Colliery was opened in 1816 – 1818 and was the largest in the vicinity of Furness Vale.  There were numerous shafts: Air Pit; Chain Pit; Furnace Pit, Lady Pit; Blind Pit, Deans Piece Pit and Bullbower Pit.

A feature of the mine was the Jowhole Tunnel which was dug in 1853. This ran in a straight, almost westerly direction to a yard off of Marsh Lane near Gow Hole Farm. Here was a wharf where coal could be loaded by tipplers on to road vehicles. A horse drawn tramway ran through the tunnel and this opened into a number of sidings at Gow Hole. The site is now Nick Rowleys Yard.

The opening of the railway between Sheffield and Manchester allowed high quality, inexpensive coal to be transported across the Pennines and our local mines could not stand up to the competition.

Lady Pit was sited at the point where Dolly Lane meets Lady Pit Road. The buildings have been demolished and the land restored to farming.  The colliery was served by a short railway line which extended from Gowhole sidings, crossing the field on a low embankment which may still be seen in the photograph below.

Beard and Bugsworth Colliery - Lady Pit

Lady Pit, owned by the Beard and Bugsworth Colliery Company stood at the corner of Ladypit Road and Dolly Lane. It closed in 1909.  I had never seen any photographs of the mine and assumed that none had survived. It's surprising what can be found when studying and enlarging an old photograph. One picture from our archives features Bangs Bridge, the footbridge over the canal near the water treatment works. Look in the background and there, behind a very long goods train is Lady Pit.  At that distance it is a little bit misty but all of the buildings can be clearly seen.

The chimney survived long after closure only to be demolished in the late 1940's by a lightning strike which scattered the bricks a distance of 100 metres.. 

Lady Pit, The Beard and Bugsworth Colliery

In 1949 a 100 foot high brick chimney still stood at Lady Pit.   Lightning struck on the 5th December bringing down the 80 year old structure.  Bricks were scattered up to 300 yards away.  

More solid is this stone air shaft still standing alongside Dolly Lane.  The only other evidence that this was a busy coal mine is the old railway embankment stretching across the field on the other side of the road. 

Lady Pit in 1896 employed 36 miners and closed in 1903.